Practical Guide To Keeping Flowers Fresh For Longer
Why Bloom Care Makes All The Difference
There's nothing like a bouquet of flowers to lighten your mood and spruce up your home! Plus, it's also one of the most precious and heartfelt gifts we can receive on special occasions.
Sadly, we all know that flowers don't last forever. But with a little initiative and a good deal of TLC, you can keep your dear blossoms fresh and blooming for longer!
For a more in-depth manual on the use of color and design in floristry, contact us for the Best Florist in Lake Worth Texas.
We've provided a simple guideline to help you sustain your beloved flowers' vibrance for a long time. Enjoy your lovely bouquet to the fullest by following these easy steps!
If you're interested in a formal course or want to get certified as an expert on all things about flowers, we recommend looking into professional bodies and colleges in gardening and floristry such as the American Institute of Floral Designers of the AIFD (www.aifd.org), the American Floral Endowment (www.endowment.org), and other similar organizations offering programs specializing in floristry.
Clean your vase
Containers collect a lot of dust and dirt that can make your water cloudy and affect your flowers. Even if your vase is newly-bought, make sure to wash it for safety.
Cleaning your vase is actually easy and cheap - you'll have everything you need right at home! Just wash with hot water, a cap of bleach, and let it dry.
Another homemade cleaning alternative is a salt and vinegar paste. Simply mix a tablespoon of salt with a tablespoon of vinegar, spread the mixture to your vase with a clean cloth or brush, and let it set for half an hour. Afterwards, rub it off until all residue is removed, rinse out with tepid water, and let dry.
Add flower food
Yes, you read it right: cut flowers need food, too! It allows them to blossom in full health and helps avoid infections that can shorten their lifespan.
Flower food has three elements: 1) citric acid, which balances the pH level of water for tip-top health; 2) sugar, which boosts their energy; and 3) bleach, which curbs fungi and bacterial growth.
Your local nursery or online stores may have flower food packets readily available. But if you want to make your own at home, the recipe is easy to follow! All you need is 1 quart of water, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of bleach, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
There are also plenty of alternatives to this recipe! Clear soda, apple cider vinegar, and even vodka have been proven effective at nourishing flowers.
Prune away
Leaves and foliage that are left behind on the stems and submerged in water will rot right away, introducing bacteria to your flowers which can bring about disease and infection.
So it's a great idea to prune your flowers before putting them in your vase and make sure that there are no leaves below the waterline.
Cut stems
One of the best tips for keeping flowers fresh is to cut their stems! This technique creates a bigger opening at the bottom of the stem, allowing your blooms to absorb more water and delay wilting.
Just cut an inch from the stems at a 45-degree angle. It's important to be cautious, though! Poor cutting techniques can easily lead to crushed stems which keep your flowers from absorbing water
To prevent this, avoid using dull scissors or blades. Use a sharp knife or sharp shears instead for a guaranteed smooth and clean cut.
Place in water.
All flowers need water to flourish, but different blooms have different needs! Before you place them in water, look up their particular water requirements.
Flowers with woody and semi-woody stems like roses, mimosas, lilies, chrysanthemums, and carnations tend to drink a lot. Set them in warm water filled to about 2/3 of your vase.
Soft-stemmed blooms like anemones, freesias, and ranunculuses prefer shallow water. You can put them in warm water filled to only 1/2 of your vase.
Blooms with bulbous stems like daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips enjoy a bit of a chill, so put them in cool water up to 1/3 of your vase.
Set in a cool area
Most flowers prefer cooler spots out of direct sunlight. You can still put them by the windows to create a peaceful look for your home; just see to it that they're kept away from light and that they don't touch the glass.
If you love having flowers as a centerpiece for your dining table or kitchen, see to it you set them where there are no fruits nearby. This may sound odd, but ripening fruits actually release small amounts of ethylene gas that cause flowers to brown and mature earlier than normal.
It's also best to keep them off of anything that releases or produces heat, such as cooling units, fire places, heating vents, radiators, or televisions - these can result in dehydration and early wilting.
Extra Care Tips
Change water and food
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Water can collect dust and debris from your surroundings, while leaves and stems can break off your flowers and drop into your water. These elements foster an optimal environment for bacterial growth. So it's vital to change your water every 2-3 days.
For best results, you can wash the vase before you replace the water. Also, be sure to mix in fresh flower food to top up your flowers' nutrients!
Re-cut stems
Whenever you cut flowers, you create a "wound" at the bottom of the stem. So flowers "heal" themselves by sealing the wound which shuts it off to water supply and greatly lessens their water intake.
This is why re-cutting stems is essential! It opens up your flowers' stems so they can absorb more water; plus, it helps get rid of blockages and inhibit infections as well.
Simply trim about half an inch off the stem every three days and you'll be sure to lengthen your flowers' lives!
Specific Care Advice For Your Favorite Flowers
Roses
Remove - Roses have "guard petals" which shield the inner buds that have not yet blossomed. Florists keep them to secure the safety of your roses while they're being delivered, but it's safe to get rid of them once they arrive. This also allows your roses to spend their energy on keeping newer, more attractive petals fresh.
Revive - Wilting blooms can be revitalized by shearing off an inch from the base of the stem, then setting the roses in a bucket of water. Keep them soaking for 30-60 minutes.
Peonies (7-9 days).
Keep cool - Peonies enjoy cool surroundings, so some people wrap and stash them in the fridge to keep them fresh. But putting them in a shady area in your home should be more than enough to keep them thriving.
Keep apart - Avoid overcrowding your vase when you have peonies in a mixed bouquet. They're quite sensitive and flimsy, so give them plenty of space for their big blossoms to thrive.
Gardenias.
No sniffing - Smelling these temptingly aromatic flowers can actually cause premature wilting! Sounds strange, but gardenias enjoy their privacy and definitely turn brown when sniffed.
Lilies.
Pluck - Take note of your lilies' anthers; they're likely to be covered in pollen that can stain fabric on your clothing and furniture. Simply pluck the pollen off or remove the anthers by hand.
Protect - Lilies are especially fragile flowers. Their petals tend to bruise a lot, so be sure to handle them lightly when you're recutting stems or removing anthers.
Hydrangeas.
Spray - You can keep your hydrangeas growing fully and vibrantly with a few spritzes of water to their petals every day.
Sustain - Again, these flowers just love their water! Make sure they always get a tall drink and change their water more consistently.
Tulips.
Take note of temperature - Tulips usually tend to be more sensitive to changes in temperature. They enjoy cooler surroundings, so if you see their blooms start to open on a warm day, just put them in front of an air-conditioner.
Turn, turn, turn - These fast-growing blooms bend over and get twisted up a lot, so make sure to rotate their vase every day.
Need Help? Contact the Best Florist in Lake Worth Texas.
